


side by side in orbit

by 1000_directions



Category: Captain America (Movies), Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Amputee Bucky Barnes, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Deaf Clint Barton, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 10:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17723162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1000_directions/pseuds/1000_directions
Summary: Clint has a bad day, but he also has Bucky.





	side by side in orbit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kangofu_CB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kangofu_CB/gifts).



It’s late when Clint gets home. Normally, he’d call out for Bucky and find him first thing, but tonight, Clint just feels...done. He toes off his shoes, drapes his hoodie over a chair, and stares at the note on the counter.

_Dinner for you in the fridge :)_

It’s Bucky’s handwriting, angled and efficient, and just the shape of his letters is usually enough to make Clint feel something, that familiar, comforting warmth that encompasses him whenever he really lets himself think about how grateful he is for the life the two of them have carved out together. But Clint doesn’t feel anything right now. He traces the letters in his mind, stares down at the note until his vision blurs. He’s not hungry. He’s not anything. He just feels numb.

He stands there as long as he can stand it, and then he makes his way through the apartment towards the bedroom. He doesn’t know if he’s actually tired, but he really doesn’t want to be awake anymore.

Bucky’s already in bed when Clint pushes the door open. He’s squinting down at the book he’s reading, and some of his hair has escaped his low ponytail and fallen down in front of his eyes, and he’s just wearing a soft pair of sweatpants and his reading glasses. Clint could ignore the emotional pull of Bucky’s handwriting, but he can’t do the same thing when his boyfriend is right there in front of him, looking sleepy and rumpled and safe.

“Hey,” Bucky says, looking up at him with an easy smile. “Didn’t hear you come in.”

“I had a shitty day,” Clint mumbles, yanking his t-shirt off over his head and kicking his jeans down.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Nope,” Clint says, climbing over Bucky to get to his own side of the bed.

Bucky places a hand on Clint’s side, and the warmth of his touch makes Clint pause and close his eyes. He’s practically in Bucky’s lap, and he just breathes in and out and tries to center himself around that soft touch, tries to anchor himself into this moment when he’s at home, being cared for by someone who loves him.

He opens his eyes, and the moment dissipates. Clint gets settled on his side of the bed, fussing over the pillows until Bucky pushes his hands away and fixes them himself. Clint’s the worst at arranging his own pillows, but somehow Bucky always makes them better.

“Sorry you had a bad day,” Bucky says quietly, and Clint nods. He knows Bucky only wants to help, and he appreciates that unwavering support, even though he can’t always show it. It means so much. Bucky keeps trying to take care of Clint even though Clint is the worst at letting himself be taken care of, and that means everything, and Clint should let him know that, but.

“My head is fucking killing me,” Clint says instead, and then he immediately feels shitty for being so prickly. “Sorry. I’m just gonna.” He switches off his aids, and it’s like someone pressed mute on his brain, just for a moment. He closes his eyes, and he sees nothing, and he hears nothing, and it’s the first moment of peace he’s had all day.

After a minute he feels Bucky’s touch on his earlobe, and he knows he’s asking for permission to help Clint take out his aids. Clint swallows hard and says, “Please,” and Bucky gently removes Clint’s aids from his ear, so tenderly and carefully that Clint could cry from it. He’s been unpleasant since he got home, has barely said a word to Bucky, and now he’s sitting here with his eyes closed just being a dick and ignoring him, and still, Bucky is trying to make it better.

Clint opens his eyes, and he blinks to focus. Bucky is sitting there watching him with a soft, concerned expression, Clint’s aids cradled carefully in his hand, and Clint is so overwhelmed. It’s easier to focus with his ears off, easier to remember that this man is his world, this good man who tries every day to be a better version of himself, a better partner, a better human. And Clint gets to be the beneficiary of all that goodness.

“I love you,” Clint says. It’s easier to say when he can’t hear himself saying it.

“I love you,” Bucky signs back after carefully depositing Clint’s aids on the bedside table. It’s just one hand shape, but the expression on his face communicates so much intensity and promise, a depth of feelings too big to be contained by so few words.

Clint leans in and catches Bucky’s one hand with both of his. He kisses Bucky’s callused palm and the knuckles of his bent fingers. He kisses the pad of his thumb and the side of his index finger. He drags his grateful lips over every last slope and plane of Bucky’s hand. He loves this man, bigger than words, bigger than language.

Clint pulls back once he’s satisfied that his mouth has thanked every inch of Bucky’s eloquent hand. And he sees the look on Bucky’s face, the concern and the tenderness and the impossible goodness of him. And Clint doesn’t know what he did in some other life to deserve this, but he’s not going to give it back, not a second of it.

“You can stay up if you’re not done reading, but I’m gonna sleep,” Clint says finally.

Bucky doesn’t say anything, just takes off his glasses and turns out the light, and the room goes comfortably black. Clint finds Bucky’s body in the dark and snuggles down into his strength and heat, laying his head directly on Bucky’s bare chest. Bucky strokes his fingers soothingly through Clint’s hair, and Clint stares at nothing and lets the steadfast vibrations of Bucky’s heartbeat lull him to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr post](http://1000-directions.tumblr.com/post/182698116229/for-kangofu-cb-its-late-when-clint-gets-home)


End file.
